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Re: 3rd home theater, trying to do it right....
aarons #420805 10/22/16 10:37 AM
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Until I read Socketman's post I was about to say "everyone mounts on the walls unless they don't have walls in the right place", but maybe I'll re-think that now.

In my case I didn't have walls or ceiling in the right place (it's a loft, where walls angle down at 45 degrees) so I used stands... soup cans and leftover furniture at the previous house, then home-made stands, now FMS QS Axiom stands.

Last edited by bridgman; 10/22/16 10:39 AM.

M60ti, VP180, QS8, M2ti, EP500, PC-Plus 20-39
M5HP, M40ti, Sierra-1
LFR1100 active, ADA1500-4 and -8
Re: 3rd home theater, trying to do it right....
aarons #420847 10/26/16 03:04 AM
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Good stuff. How about my center channel? I have the VP 150 and if I mount below my screen it wil be slightly below ear level for the front row ans significantly below for second row. Was considering buying a acoustic screen and mounting behind it. Are those screens decent for sound transmission as well as allowing for good picture quality?


It all matters.....just not very much.
Re: 3rd home theater, trying to do it right....
aarons #420852 10/26/16 01:01 PM
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I have a Seymour XD screen and it is awesome. I have my M60s and VP180 behind it and any slight adjustment to sound will be either accounted for by your receiver/processor or not even noticed by your ears.

Since it is a woven product, it looks solid (no pin-holes like the old style acoustically transparent screens) and has one of the best gains for an A.T. screen.

Either buy their DIY material and build your own frame to keep costs down, or go to Jamestown HT Screens and buy a kit with an easy to assemble frame and Seymour XD material. I mean you can get a 150" Seymour XD screen with a Jamestown frame for $600. A MAJOR bargain for a screen that costs twice that price (and is still a bargain) direct from Seymour.


Farewell - June 4, 2020
Re: 3rd home theater, trying to do it right....
aarons #420855 10/27/16 02:05 AM
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nickbuol did you ever post a picture of your setup ? Just did a bit of quick reading on the XD - either AT screens have progressed a lot since I last looked or they were always better than I realized.

I am still happy with my 4x8 sheet of Formica and had a tough time justifying the purchase of a real screen, but just got a feeling that an AT screen might be what I have been waiting for.

Going with an AT screen would help in a couple of ways: (a) right now my speakers have to be further apart than I like to avoid blocking the screen (although the Big Honkin' VP180 helps to fill the gap), and (b) just realized that if I moved the screen further out in the room I could move the projector back to a much more convenient mounting point.


M60ti, VP180, QS8, M2ti, EP500, PC-Plus 20-39
M5HP, M40ti, Sierra-1
LFR1100 active, ADA1500-4 and -8
Re: 3rd home theater, trying to do it right....
aarons #420860 10/27/16 01:00 PM
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The key to the AT screens is you want a woven screen, not the perforated screens like their used to be. A woven screen lets a lot more sound through, and doesn't have the "dots" from the holes.

Viewing distance on the Seymour XD is really no closer than about 12 feet. I am at about that distance and wouldn't want to go any closer as you will start to see the texture of the weave.

As for my setup, there is an entire build thread here on it. I will grab some pics and link them into an additional post in a bit.


Farewell - June 4, 2020
Re: 3rd home theater, trying to do it right....
aarons #420862 10/27/16 01:18 PM
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Well, I don't think that I have a current image, but these are close to being current....

Atmos speakers installed


Front screen wall.


And with the screen down (this was a slightly older speaker configuration, but it gives you the idea.


And 2 "pre-Atmos" pictures. Pretty much all of the speakers have been moved since this picture was taken (except the center channel), but it gives a feel for the overall room. There are also missing the 2 additional acoustical panels that I've added and the upgraded and rotated star ceiling (which also does some absorption for the ceiling).






And here are the current side walls with the 2 additional panels:




Farewell - June 4, 2020
Re: 3rd home theater, trying to do it right....
aarons #420863 10/27/16 01:49 PM
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I see you went with the M3's surround rather than QS8's. Mind giving a little insight into that? Also do you see a big value in upgrading my center channel from the current VP150? The 160 and 180 appear to be nice but rather expensive


It all matters.....just not very much.
Re: 3rd home theater, trying to do it right....
aarons #420864 10/27/16 02:22 PM
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Yeah, quite a few changes...

I stared with a 5.1 system with M60 L/R, VP150 Center, and a pair of QS8s. Then I went 7.1 and added another pair of QS8s it was also at that time that I upgraded from the VP150 to the VP180. The VP150 was a great upgrade from the crappy system that I had before that, but it started to be noticeable as the weakest link in my setup. The VP160 wasn't announced yet, and the VP180 was just released. So my only option was the VP180. I have no regrets in the sound quality of the VP180, but I wonder if I could have done just as well with the VP160 for a little less money. No regrets there though.

It was after CEDIA 2014 where I heard Dolby Atmos for the first time that I knew that another change was in my future.

Atmos does best with monopole speakers, and QS8s were about as far away from that as you can get. Some people have used QS8s with an Atmos setup, but mostly because they didn't want to swap speakers. It "works" but is, as Dolby put it, "less than ideal."

Without getting into all of the technical details, the reasoning and science behind it was enough for me to trade in my QS8s for on-wall M3s. So I ran a 7.1 setup with four M3s for surrounds for about a year or so, knowing that I would eventually add four more speakers overhead once receivers became more available for Atmos. I actually liked the M3s as the rear speakers as I could finally actually "hear" them when I sat in the front row.

Fast forward to March of this year. This was the next big step. I ordered an Anthem MRX-1120 receiver, and four more on-wall M3s for mounting on the ceiling.

I've never looked back. The sound in my room has never been better. I upmix everything to Atmos now, and having a top tier receiver in the Anthem MRX-1120 really makes the Axioms sing.

So that is a history of my setup and changes since I first bought my original Axioms back in 2004.


Farewell - June 4, 2020
Re: 3rd home theater, trying to do it right....
aarons #420865 10/27/16 02:35 PM
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I'll be running a 9.2 system I think. I still need to buy the second subwoofer. Cash will get tight. If it's a decision to upgrade the center 150 to a 160 / 180 versus upgrading the QS8s to M3's which do you think would be a better decision?


It all matters.....just not very much.
Re: 3rd home theater, trying to do it right....
aarons #420866 10/27/16 04:52 PM
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They have a very impressive EP800 in the refurb section


Anthem: AVM60, Fosi DAC-Q5
Axiom: ADA1500, LFR1100 Actiive, QS8, EP500, M3, M3comp, M5
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